Ryan Anderson reflects on this summer's Carmelo Anthony trade rumors

Ryan Anderson reflects on this summer's Carmelo Anthony trade rumors

Before he ultimately accepted a trade to Oklahoma City, Carmelo Anthony made it known that the only team he had any interest in joining in a deal was the Houston Rockets. The Rockets and Knicks had talks at various points throughout the offseason about a deal, but a constant sticking point was Houston needing to unload the remaining three years on the four-year, $80 million contract Ryan Anderson signed in the summer of 2016. New York wasn’t interested, and they never found a third team to take on that money. The deal fell through, and Anthony wound up in Oklahoma City.

Before the Rockets played the Knicks on Wednesday, Anderson reflected on the summer’s trade rumors and made it clear that he didn’t pay much attention to them. Via the Houston Chronicle:

“I have a good relationship with [the Rockets]. If something was going to happen or was real serious I knew we would have talked about it. When we ran into each other in Las Vegas or we did team workouts in The Bahamas. In no way did they lead me to believe that was actually accurate. It was completely a Carmelo Anthony run show. Twitter is a powerful thing. I didn’t pay attention to any of it. I do my job. I shoot 3-pointers. I know this is where I fit the best. This is where I want to be.”

It would have been interesting to think about how Anthony would have fit alongside Chris Paul and James Harden had a deal actually come to fruition, but the Knicks and Rockets never came close to an agreement. Anderson remains a valuable piece for the Rockets, a sharpshooting big man whose unique skillset is crucial in running Mike D’Antoni’s offense.

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